Former US President Barack Obama's response to the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia is officially the most 'liked' tweet ever.

With nearly 3 million 'likes', former US President Barack Obama's tweet is the most 'liked' tweet ever

A tweet from former US President Barack Obama has just made Twitter history. With over 2.8 million 'likes,' Mr Obama's tweet is the most 'liked' tweet on the microblogging platform. The tweet is the first in a series of three quoting the late South African leader Nelson Mandela. Mr Obama's tweets from August 13 were in response to a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia that turned violent and resulted in the death of a protester.

"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion," Mr Obama tweeted, along with a photograph. The quote comes from Mr Mandela's autobiography "Long Walk to Freedom."

Taken by the then-White House photographer, Pete Souza, the photo accompanying the poignant quote shows Mr Obama visiting a day care centre in the US in 2011. It's a candid moment where he's smiling and reaching up to four young children of different racial backgrounds.

Mr Obama's tweet has been 'liked' close to three million times already and has been retweeted over 1.2 million times.

"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion..." pic.twitter.com/InZ58zkoAm